Tech News May 2006

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Blackberry 8700g Review
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 15, 2006
People in a high-demand workplace need to constantly keep updated on information. Whether it’s checking e-mail, making phone calls, or viewing stock prices, most people you encounter will all be using the same tool: the Blackberry. T-Mobile’s Blackberry 8700g is the best Blackberry to date. Its combination of sophisticated styling, excellent navigation, and high-powered applications make it a must-have for communication on the go. You’ll definitely want to read on to find out why every power user in today’s workforce needs a Blackberry 8700g.

The Booth Babe hunt continues. We got another 7 pages of the hottest booth babes of E3. We even managed to track down some celebrity booth babes like Jenny McCarthy and Paris Hilton! Enjoy and make sure the boss is not watching.

Quote: “Aerocool is a great name for a company that makes cooling products don’t you think? The name alone is sleek and conjures visions of futuristic looking things and technology. Today for review I have the AeroCool Xfire CPU cooler, and it truly does look sleek and futuristic. Looks aren’t much if you don’t have the performance to do with it, so read on to find out just how well the Xfire can perform…”

The HP3200 2GB kit that we have here today may not be the fastest kit available on the market, however it does not cost much more than low end RAM modules. To further make the deal sweeter, it is backed up by a lifetime warranty, carries heatspreaders and boasts 2/3/2 RAM latency at 200MHz (400MHz DDR) which are nearly the fastest any DDR RAM can handleat those speeds and fantastic for a 2GB kit. However the overclocking capability and performance of this kit remain in question, so let us have a closer look at it.

Battle of the Backups
Short-Media :: Monday, May 15, 2006
“Human nature being what it is, the easier it is for you to regularly do a comprehensive backup of your data the more likely it will be that you’ll do it. Part of this article will explore two different programs which can automate the task to a large extent, increasing the odds that should misfortune strike it will be merely a nuisance – and not an unrecoverable calamity.”

Ubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake Flight 7
Phoronix :: Monday, May 15, 2006
Summary: “Ubuntu, one of the Linux distributions leading the desktop movement by Mark Shuttleworth, has come out this morning with Flight 7 for Ubuntu v6.06 Dapper Drake. Contained in this release are LiveCD installer improvements, updated multimedia framework, additional look and feel polish, latest version of popular applications, and other minor improvements. While it is relatively stable and almost the final version, it is still not recommended to install Flight 7 on production machines. We at Phoronix have coverage from Ubuntu Dapper Drake Flight 7.”

The Game O’ 3D gaming mouse opens up new frontiers for gamers to explore, by offering enhanced movement options and flexibility. For example, in FPS, Game O’ offers gamers a way to move forward, backwards, sideways, jump, crouch, pitch, yaw and roll without using the keyboard. Gamers’ left hands are free to execute commands that were mutually exclusive with WASD keys. In RTS and RPG titles, gamers are able to issue game commands while simultaneously adjusting the screen view during online battles, as they no longer have to move the cursor to the edge of the screen to move the camera.

ASUS A8R32 MVP Deluxe
Lost Circuits :: Monday, May 15, 2006
ATI’s line of chipset is the latest buzz in the menagerie of core logic. An insane overclocking potential, combined with 32 PCIe lanes dedicated entirely to graphics processing are the main charms enticing the novice along with the hard-boiled overclocking fanatic. Crossfire in the purest form includiung the possibility of using two ATI X1900 XT processors complements the platform by taking advantage of a 16 MB/sec path for feeding the graphics monsters with data and inter-GPU communication for coordination of the different workloads.

On paper, all this and more seems like a perfect solution but what happens in reality? In most systems we have looked at, increasing the bus speed also increased system performance – even if we kept the overall CPU clock speed the same. So what are we to expect if we are taking advantage of the insane clocking potential of the chipset without raising the CPU clock? Or rather, are the benchmarks going to tell us something about the tricks that ATI/ASUS used to enable the speed demons. Think wait states, think skews – and by the end of the day, there is still the possibility of overclocking the PCIe bus to make the hard disks spin faster than their rated 7200 rpm and turn a Barracuda into a Raptor! — Or maybe not?

NEW CONTENT (Visual) AGEIA PhysX and Ghost Recon – Gaming at the next level
TweakTown :: Monday, May 15, 2006
QUOTE: “Finally we leave thinking about the performance hit that has been spoken about a lot. There is no doubt that the AGEIA card in GRAW does impact performance – the VGA card has to render more detail due to the AGEIA card. Losses as high as 20 frames per second have been spoken about but with that said, the Radeon X1900XTX at 2560 x 1600 didn’t give us any major loss of FPS that affected our game play. The other thing is the PhysX in GRAW feels as it’s been kind of taped on and not written from the ground up. When we get a chance to look at the card again we will try Cell Factor which is designed around the AGEIA technology to see just how it performs. This will give us a better indication of how future games will perform with this technology as it matures.”

Quote: The Noctua NH-U9 and NH-U12 can now be included in a class with the cooling elite; joining such well performing coolers such as the Zalman Fatal1ty, Thermalright HR-01, and Thermaltake Big Typhoon. I had a great first impression of the Noctua coolers from the moment I opened the box, and I was not disappointed once I had tested their performance.

Gigabyte Poseidon Chassis
t-break :: Monday, May 15, 2006
Inside the case we have five of 5¼” screw-less bays and two 3½” screw-less bays along with an internal HDD bay at the bottom that can take three more drives. We like the screw-less design from Gigabyte that secures the drives very tightly preventing you from wasting any time with installing/removing the drives using traditional screws.

Quote: We have being reviewing Spire products on PC for a good little while. And during that time we have seen some really sweet products come from them. From their Italian designed Pininfarina cases to their popular DiamondCool heatsink. Today, Spire was cool enough to send over their latest coolers, the DiamondCool II and VertiCool II. And let’s see how they compare.

Quote: “The Antec P-180 or P-180B cases are true Antec all the way and definitely a viable mid-sized solution that won’t disappoint you. It has style and class which is good for any personal or professional user. As I pointed out in the beginning, this is what Antec is all about.”

Quote: “You could spend as much as two days trying out every video game or console demo at the event. It just takes up so much space and they are so spread out. Its quite easy to zone out and forget which booths you have already visited. Sensory overload starts to set in after day 2 of games, swag, and trying to keep track. The major software, video game, and hardware vendors spend a couple days giving their lectures and promotions of upcoming titles and releases.”

Web Guide to Digital Scrapbooks
Designtechnica :: Monday, May 15, 2006
You might think of scrapbooking as the hobby of your prim and proper aunt or grandma, arranging pictures and mementos for posterity. But it’s far more than little old ladies; in fact, scrapbooking is a $2.5 billion a year industry, and that’s a figure that buys a lot of memories.

But these days, instead of photos, scissors, and glue, more and more of those happy pasts are being preserved digitally. Not, however, for web pages. The scrapbooks still exist, printed up or e-mailed to friends and relatives. But all the work is done on computer.

Testing the 3D Performance of Your PC With Quake 4
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, May 15, 2006
“One of the best ways to benchmark the performance of your PC is running a heavy 3D game, since it will pull the maximum performance your video card, CPU, memories and hard disk drive can deliver. Quake 4 fits nicely in this role for PCs found on the market today. In this short tutorial we will teach you how to use Quake 4 to measure the performance of a PC.”

Quote: Zalman continues to innovate in the field of high performance, low noise cooling. The VF-900Cu provided excellent cooling performance and was able to do so with absolutely no noise. Even at full speed, the cooler was quieter than the stock unit it replaced, and it kept the X800 GTO almost 10 degrees Celsius cooler!

“Etymotic has been manufacturing quality earphones for decades. Unlike other consumer electronics manufacturers, Etymotic doesn’t update its product line too often, but when it does, the new products are revolutionary and truly worthy of attention. We did a roundup of Etymotic earphones two years ago and were thoroughly impressed with the company’s superb noise cancelling earphones. Since Etymotic is a premium brand with earphones that are designed for professionals and audiophiles, its products carry a hefty price tag.”

All Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition Models
Hardware Secrets :: Monday, May 15, 2006
“Pentium D is a dual-core version of Pentium 4, and Pentium Extreme Edition is a Pentium D with HyperThreading technology enabled. Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition CPUs can be found using two different core versions: Smithfield and Presler. In this tutorial we will talk about these two core versions and we will also list all Pentium D and Pentium Extreme Edition models released to date.”

Today, we’re going to review a drive that may play a role in in removing one of the remaining two check marks, longevity. Seagate recently introduced the new NL35™ series of SATA drives which they call ‘Near Line’ that takes direct aim at the workstation/entry-level server environment. A quote from Seagate states: ‘The NL35™ Series drives are designed for workloads that fall between enterprise workloads and desktop computer or entry-level server workloads. NL35 Series drives are not appropriate for true high duty-cycle enterprise workloads.’ Hmmm! A niche market for drives or a stepping stone to the future? Please join me for a look at the Seagate ST3500641NS, 500 GB SATA Drive to ascertain if the differences this product brings to the table truly indicate this product’s future is as bright as the manufacturer’s literature suggests.

Corsair Nautilus500 Water Cooling System
TechFEAR :: Monday, May 15, 2006
Summary: “Anyone that’s in the market for an inexpensive water cooling kit should take a look at the Corsair Nautilus500. With a quick installation and robust cross-compatibility with various socket types it’s one of the most complete kits on the market.”

“One would want a technology like DTS Connect if a person has a home theater audio setup and were dealing with sound sources that are not already in a compatible surround sound format (Dolby Digital or DTS) but surround sound is desired. The common examples of this are gaming and WMV-HD videos (which uses Microsoft’s proprietary 5.1 audio codec).”

Summary: “If the popular 500~600W power supply units are not enough to suit the growing needs of computer enthusiasts, SilverStone Technology has released a phenomenal 750W continuous power PSU. With providing just over the equivalent of one horsepower, the SilverStone Zeus ST75ZF features quad +12V rails, dual PCI-E 6-pin connectors (plus the option for two more), industrial grade components, and active PFC. Is SilverStone’s ST75ZF the new front-runner for high-end power supplies?”

Quote: “Scythe has come a long way in the last three years in offering PC cooling the quiet way. I still remember the look of the web page first appeared in the summer of 2003. Today, we are taking a look at Scythe’s first power supply entering the U.S. market; KAMARIKI II 550 Watts Extra Silent.”

Description: There are many reasons to invest in a wireless keyboard. Some people like to place the keyboard out of sight when it’s not in use. The same could be said for their mouse. For other folks, just having wires laying on their desktop looks too messy. Gamers on the other hand usually go for the wired devices unless wireless mice and keyboards are very responsive – any lag can spell death in a first person shooter game like Doom III. Can a wireless keyboard and trackball combo meet the needs of all these people? We are going to find out by reviewing the XGene Imperial 2.4GHz Wireless Keyboard +Trackball device.

How-To: Compile a Linux KernelOS Weekly :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: “The kernel is the core piece of most operating systems. It is a piece of software responsible for the communication between hardware and software components. As a basic component of an operating system, a kernel provides abstraction layers for hardware, especially for memory, processors and communication between hardware and software. It also provides software facilities such as process abstractions and makes interprocess communication easier.”

Aerocool Silver Lightning fans
Pro-Clockers :: Monday, May 08, 2006
Quote: We all know that Aerocool is fast making a name for themselves in the world of cases and cooling. The success of the ExtremEngine line of cases and front panel devices have been a pretty big success for them. Being no strangers to cooling fans, Aerocool was nice enough to send over their entire line of Silver Lightning cooling fans. From sizes ranging from 80mm to 140mm, there is surely one or two to meet your needs.